Post modern metropolis

Curitiba was our next stop enroute from San Paulo to Iguazu Falls. This city is the regional capital of the Brazilian state of Paraná. It rarely features in tour brochures as it has no significant tourist sights of note. However, despite such shortcomings, it made for a most interesting and somewhat unexpected diversion.

Unlike most of Brazil (or Latin America for that matter) Curitiba is a model of modern urban planning. Despite being home to more than three million people, it has the look and feel of a smaller urban centre. The streets are wide, green and clean. Quaint parks are scattered throughout the city, many consisting of tidy, creative landscaping. The buildings are modern and clearly designed to complement each other. It has an efficient and accessible public transport system (consisting of long-bending buses with ten wheels).

Surprisingly, despite the stunning urban planning, the city's old town has been carefully preserved as a safe, clean pedestrian mall. This in turn is one of several people-friendly malls throughout the city centre. We had coffee one morning in a cafe that wouldn't have looked out of place in Eastern Sydney. It certainly would have looked out of place in the rest of Brazil.

Urban Activist, Bill McKibben describes the city best when he says "I have never been any place like it." The contrast between Curitiba and other Brazilian cities is stark. So much so that at times we thought we'd stumbled onto a movie set or a carefully crafted village scene at Disney's Epcot Centre. The modern beauty and efficiency were truly impressive and wonderfully refreshing after weeks on dusty South American roads. At times I could even see myself making a home here. It's a truly livable city!

To get to the Falls we caught the night bus from Curitiba. In a country where air travel is still a relative luxury, long-distance travel is generally conducted using buses. However, these are no ordinary buses. Each is equipped with large reclining seats in a style not too dissimilar to those in the pointy end of a Boeing 747.

As a result, our 12-hour journey was literally completed in business-class luxury, while never being more than a few metres above the ground. Following a sound night's sleep we arrived at Iguazu Falls shortly after dawn.